Electricite De France (EDF) Pulse Africa Awards for African Energy Start-ups 2018

Application Deadline: 9th July 2018

Eligible Countries: African countries

To Be Taken At (Country): Paris, France on 22nd November 2018

About the Award: Wishing to contribute in facilitating access to energy alongside the agents of change in the
continent, EDF’s International Division initiates a call for projects and launches the “EDF Pulse Awards” in Africa (hereinafter referred to as ” EDF Pulse Africa), in order to be sustainable and effective as a development partner.
The contest is open to start-ups, micro-enterprises and small businesses in Africa that develop innovative solutions in the field of energy. Within the framework of this call for projects, a Grand Jury will award three (3) prize classes, known as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes of the Jury, to the project winners in one of the following fields. EDF reserves the right to reward a favorite project with one (1) prize called “Special Prize”:

• Off-grid electrical production: in this category, the Grand Jury may reward one innovative solution for the production and / or storage of electricity in off-grid area (solar, hydroelectric, wind, thermal, etc.)
• Electrical uses and services : in this category, the Grand Jury may reward an innovative product or service with low power consumption or a common use of electrical services (Hardware ex: household appliances, tablets, fans, cooling systems … / Services eg mobile money, breakdown service …)
• Access to water: in this category, the Grand Jury may reward one innovative solution to improve access to water through electricity (agriculture, domestic use, etc.)

Type: Award, Entrepreneurship

Eligibility: Any participating structure must satisfy the following requirements:

• Be a structure (start-up, micro-enterprise …) of less than 30 people.
• Be domiciled in Africa.
• Be established by July 9, 2017.
• Introduce an innovation that uses or produces electricity, and falls within the scope of one of the 3 categories mentioned above.
• Be the bearer of a project with an advanced stage of development:
  • Be in the pre-commercialization phase (or be marketed for less than one year).
  • Have a prototype by November 21, 2018, allowing the demonstration of the proposed solution to the general public, at the time of the Grand Jury.

Selection Criteria: Projects received will be assessed on the basis of the following selection criteria:

• Clarity and understanding of the proposal
• Innovative and differentiating features of the solution
• Progress for the society brought by the solution
• Relevance of the business model
• Evaluation of the team (vision, complementarity, experiences, skills …)

These criteria will be taken into account at each stage of the selection process

Selection: Based on the candidatures selected by the selection panel, a jury composed of EDF Group managers and external experts will meet in October 2018 to select ten (10) finalists (all  domains). The finalists selected will be presented to the Grand Jury in November 2018.

Number of Awards: 3

Value of Award:

• In preparation of the grand oral, the representatives will participate to three (3) day coaching session and support in order to the grand jury.
• The costs of transport and accommodation in France of each finalist representative will be borne by the Organizer
• The awards ceremony will be filmed and distributed or redisplayed on the Internet, especially on social networks.
• Each winner will receive a trophy “EDF PULSE AFRICA 2018 PRIZE”
• The three (3) laureates will receive from EDF an allocation for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes: 15K €, 10K € and 5K € respectively. This allocation will contribute to the development of their projects. The endowment will be paid by bank transfer or check to the winning team structure.
• The three (3) winners will benefit from easy access to financing and possible development of partnerships with EDF Group companies in Africa.

Participants must personally meet all costs related to the visa application process

Duration of Programme:  from May 23, to November 22, 2018

How to Apply: All participants must complete and submit an electronic file on the competition website https://africa-pulse.edf.com by July 09, 2018. The complete brief includes:

• One (1) editable PDF application form (annexed to this regulation) presenting:
  • The structure, its team and its motivations;
  • The developed solution or product, as well as its market and economic model;
  • The stage of advancement: tests, prototypes, fund raising, commercial contacts, support and partners, awards…
• One (1) project photo in high definition, JPEG or PNG format, 800 x 600 pixels minimum
• One (1) team photo in high definition, JPEG or PNG format, 800 x 600 pixels minimum

The application form for the EDF Pulse Africa Prizes, duly completed, must be submitted by a legal representative or founder of the company on behalf of the latter.

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

Award Providers: EDF